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The Histories
by
Publius Cornelius Tacitus
Tacitus - Introduction
Book 5 - (A.D. 70)
[5.1] EARLY in this year Titus Caesar,
who had been selected by his father to complete the subjugation of Judaea,
and who had gained distinction as a soldier while both were still subjects,
began to rise in power and reputation, as armies and provinces emulated
each other in their attachment to him. The young man himself, anxious to
be thought superior to his station, was ever displaying his gracefulness
and his energy in war. By his courtesy and affability he called forth a
willing obedience, and he often mixed with the common soldiers, while working
or marching, without impairing his dignity as general. He found in Judaea
three legions, the 5th, the 10th, and the 15th, all old troops of Vespasian's.
To these he added the 12th from Syria, and some men belonging to the 18th
and 3rd, whom he had withdrawn from Alexandria. This force was accompanied
by twenty cohorts of allied troops and eight squadrons of cavalry, by the
two kings Agrippa and Sohemus, by the auxiliary forces of king Antiochus,
by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the usual hatred
of neighbours, and, lastly, by many persons brought from the capital and
from Italy by private hopes of securing the yet unengaged affections of
the Prince. With this force Titus entered the enemy's territory, preserving
strict order on his march, reconnoitring every spot, and always ready to
give battle. At last he encamped near Jerusalem.
[5.2] As I am about to relate the last
days of a famous city, it seems appropriate to throw some light on its
origin. Some say that the Jews were fugitives from the island of Crete,
who settled on the nearest coast of Africa about the time when Saturn was
driven from his throne by the power of Jupiter. Evidence of this is sought
in the name. There is a famous mountain in Crete called Ida; the neighbouring
tribe, the Idaei, came to be called Judaei by a barbarous lengthening of
the national name. Others assert that in the reign of Isis the overflowing
population of Egypt, led by Hierosolymus and Judas, discharged itself into
the neighbouring countries. Many, again, say that they were a race of Ethiopian
origin, who in the time of king Cepheus were driven by fear and hatred
of their neighbours to seek a new dwelling-place. Others describe them
as an Assyrian horde who, not having sufficient territory, took possession
of part of Egypt, and founded cities of their own in what is called the
Hebrew country, lying on the borders of Syria. Others, again, assign a
very distinguished origin to the Jews, alleging that they were the Solymi,
a nation celebrated in the poems of Homer, who called the city which they
founded Hierosolyma after their own name.
[5.3] Most writers, however, agree in
stating that once a disease, which horribly disfigured the body, broke
out over Egypt; that king Bocchoris, seeking a remedy, consulted the oracle
of Hammon, and was bidden to cleanse his realm, and to convey into some
foreign land this race detested by the gods. The people, who had been collected
after diligent search, finding themselves left in a desert, sat for the
most part in a stupor of grief, till one of the exiles, Moyses by name,
warned them not to look for any relief from God or man, forsaken as they
were of both, but to trust to themselves, taking for their heaven-sent
leader that man who should first help them to be quit of their present
misery. They agreed, and in utter ignorance began to advance at random.
Nothing, however, distressed them so much as the scarcity of water, and
they had sunk ready to perish in all directions over the plain, when a
herd of wild asses was seen to retire from their pasture to a rock shaded
by trees. Moyses followed them, and, guided by the appearance of a grassy
spot, discovered an abundant spring of water. This furnished relief. After
a continuous journey for six days, on the seventh they possessed themselves
of a country, from which they expelled the inhabitants, and in which they
founded a city and a temple.
[5.4] Moyses, wishing to secure for the
future his authority over the nation, gave them a novel form of worship,
opposed to all that is practised by other men. Things sacred with us, with
them have no sanctity, while they allow what with us is forbidden. In their
holy place they have consecrated an image of the animal by whose guidance
they found deliverance from their long and thirsty wanderings. They slay
the ram, seemingly in derision of Hammon, and they sacrifice the ox, because
the Egyptians worship it as Apis. They abstain from swine's flesh, in consideration
of what they suffered when they were infected by the leprosy to which this
animal is liable. By their frequent fasts they still bear witness to the
long hunger of former days, and the Jewish bread, made without leaven,
is retained as a memorial of their hurried seizure of corn. We are told
that the rest of the seventh day was adopted, because this day brought
with it a termination of their toils; after a while the charm of indolence
beguilded them into giving up the seventh year also to inaction. But others
say that it is an observance in honour of Saturn, either from the primitive
elements of their faith having been transmitted from the Idaei, who are
said to have shared the flight of that God, and to have founded the race,
or from the circumstance that of the seven stars which rule the destinies
of men Saturn moves in the highest orbit and with the mightiest power,
and that many of the heavenly bodies complete their revolutions and courses
in multiples of seven.
[5.5] This worship, however introduced,
is upheld by its antiquity; all their other customs, which are at once
perverse and disgusting, owe their strength to their very badness. The
most degraded out of other races, scorning their national beliefs, brought
to them their contributions and presents. This augmented the wealth of
the Jews, as also did the fact, that among themselves they are inflexibly
honest and ever ready to shew compassion, though they regard the rest of
mankind with all the hatred of enemies. They sit apart at meals, they sleep
apart, and though, as a nation, they are singularly prone to lust, they
abstain from intercourse with foreign women; among themselves nothing is
unlawful. Circumcision was adopted by them as a mark of difference from
other men. Those who come over to their religion adopt the practice, and
have this lesson first instilled into them, to despise all gods, to disown
their country, and set at nought parents, children, and brethren. Still
they provide for the increase of their numbers. It is a crime among them
to kill any newly-born infant. They hold that the souls of all who perish
in battle or by the hands of the executioner are immortal. Hence a passion
for propagating their race and a contempt for death. They are wont to bury
rather than to burn their dead, following in this the Egyptian custom;
they bestow the same care on the dead, and they hold the same belief about
the lower world. Quite different is their faith about things divine. The
Egyptians worship many animals and images of monstrous form; the Jews have
purely mental conceptions of Deity, as one in essence. They call those
profane who make representations of God in human shape out of perishable
materials. They believe that Being to be supreme and eternal, neither capable
of representation, nor of decay. They therefore do not allow any images
to stand in their cities, much less in their temples. This flattery is
not paid to their kings, nor this honour to our Emperors. From the fact,
however, that their priests used to chant to the music of flutes and cymbals,
and to wear garlands of ivy, and that a golden vine was found in the temple,
some have thought that they worshipped father Liber, the conqueror of the
East, though their institutions do not by any means harmonize with the
theory; for Liber established a festive and cheerful worship, while the
Jewish religion is tasteless and mean.
[5.6] Eastward the country is bounded
by Arabia; to the south lies Egypt; on the west are Phoenicia and the Mediterranean.
Northward it commands an extensive prospect over Syria. The inhabitants
are healthy and able to bear fatigue. Rain is uncommon, but the soil is
fertile. Its products resemble our own. They have, besides, the balsam-tree
and the palm. The palm-groves are tall and graceful. The balsam is a shrub;
each branch, as it fills with sap, may be pierced with a fragment of stone
or pottery. If steel is employed, the veins shrink up. The sap is used
by physicians. Libanus is the principal mountain, and has, strange to say,
amidst these burning heats, a summit shaded with trees and never deserted
by its snows. The same range supplies and sends forth the stream of the
Jordan. This river does not discharge itself into the sea, but flows entire
through two lakes, and is lost in the third. This is a lake of vast circumference;
it resembles the sea, but is more nauseous in taste; it breeds pestilence
among those who live near by its noisome odour; it cannot be moved by the
wind, and it affords no home either to fish or water-birds. These strange
waters support what is thrown upon them, as on a solid surface, and all
persons, whether they can swim or no, are equally buoyed up by the waves.
At a certain season of the year the lake throws up bitumen, and the method
of collecting it has been taught by that experience which teaches all other
arts. It is naturally a fluid of dark colour; when vinegar is sprinkled
upon it, it coagulates and floats upon the surface. Those whose business
it is take it with the hand, and draw it on to the deck of the boat; it
then continues of itself to flow in and lade the vessel till the stream
is cut off. Nor can this be done by any instrument of brass or iron. It
shrinks from blood or any cloth stained by the menstrua of women. Such
is the account of old authors; but those who know the country say that
the bitumen moves in heaving masses on the water, that it is drawn by hand
to the shore, and that there, when dried by the evaporation of the earth
and the power of the sun, it is cut into pieces with axes and wedges just
as timber or stone would be.
[5.7] Not far from this lake lies a plain,
once fertile, they say, and the site of great cities, but afterwards struck
by lightning and consumed. Of this event, they declare, traces still remain,
for the soil, which is scorched in appearance, has lost its productive
power. Everything that grows spontaneously, as well as what is planted
by hand, either when the leaf or flower have been developed, or after maturing
in the usual form, becomes black and rotten, and crumbles into a kind of
dust. I am ready to allow, on the one hand, that cities, once famous, may
have been consumed by fire from heaven, while, on the other, I imagine
that the earth is infected by the exhalations of the lake, that the surrounding
air is tainted, and that thus the growth of harvest and the fruits of autumn
decay under the equally noxious influences of soil and climate. The river
Belus also flows into the Jewish sea. About its mouth is a kind of sand
which is collected, mixed with nitre, and fused into glass. This shore
is of limited extent, but furnishes an inexhaustible supply to the exporter.
[5.8] A great part of Judaea consists
of scattered villages. They have also towns. Jersualem is the capital.
There stood a temple of immense wealth. First came the city with its fortifications,
then the royal palace, then, within the innermost defences, the temple
itself. Only the Jew might approach the gates; all but priests were forbidden
to pass the threshold. While the East was under the sway of the Assyrians,
the Medes, and the Persians, Jews were the most contemptible of the subject
tribes. When the Macedonians became supreme, King Antiochus strove to destroy
the national superstition, and to introduce Greek civilization, but was
prevented by his war with the Parthians from at all improving this vilest
of nations; for at this time the revolt of Arsaces had taken place. The
Macedonian power was now weak, while the Parthian had not yet reached its
full strength, and, as the Romans were still far off, the Jews chose kings
for themselves. Expelled by the fickle populace, and regaining their throne
by force of arms, these princes, while they ventured on the wholesale banishment
of their subjects, on the destruction of cities, on the murder of brothers,
wives, and parents, and the other usual atrocities of despots, fostered
the national superstition by appropriating the dignity of the priesthood
as the support of their political power.
[5.9] Cneius Pompeius was the first of
our countrymen to subdue the Jews. Availing himself of the right of conquest,
he entered the temple. Thus it became commonly known that the place stood
empty with no similitude of gods within, and that the shrine had nothing
to reveal. The walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, the temple was left standing.
After these provinces had fallen, in the course of our civil wars, into
the hands of Marcus Antonius, Pacorus, king of the Parthians, seized Judaea.
He was slain by Publius Ventidius, and the Parthians were driven back over
the Euphrates. Caius Sosius reduced the Jews to subjection. The royal power,
which had been bestowed by Antony on Herod, was augmented by the victorious
Augustus. On Herod's death, one Simon, without waiting for the approbation
of the Emperor, usurped the title of king. He was punished by Quintilius
Varus then governor of Syria, and the nation, with its liberties curtailed,
was divided into three provinces under the sons of Herod. Under Tiberius
all was quiet. But when the Jews were ordered by Caligula to set up his
statue in the temple, they preferred the alternative of war. The death
of the Emperor put an end to the disturbance. The kings were either dead,
or reduced to insignificance, when Claudius entrusted the province of Judaea
to the Roman Knights or to his own freedmen, one of whom, Antonius Felix,
indulging in every kind of barbarity and lust, exercised the power of a
king in the spirit of a slave. He had married Drusilla, the granddaughter
of Antony and Cleopatra, and so was the grandson-in-law, as Claudius was
the grandson, of Antony.
[5.10] Yet the endurance of the Jews
lasted till Gessius Florus was procurator. In his time the war broke out.
Cestius Gallus, legate of Syria, who attempted to crush it, had to fight
several battles, generally with ill-success. Cestius dying, either in the
course of nature, or from vexation, Vespasian was sent by Nero, and by
help of his good fortune, his high reputation, and his excellent subordinates,
succeeded within the space of two summers in occupying with his victorious
army the whole of the level country and all the cities, except Jerusalem.
The following year had been wholly taken up with civil strife, and had
passed, as far as the Jews were concerned, in inaction. Peace having been
established in Italy, foreign affairs were once more remembered. Our indignation
was heightened by the circumstance that the Jews alone had not submitted.
At the same time it was held to be more expedient, in reference to the
possible results and contingencies of the new reign, that Titus should
remain with the army.
Accordingly he pitched his camp, as I have related, before the walls
of Jerusalem, and displayed his legions in order of battle.
[5.11] The Jews formed their line close
under their walls, whence, if successful, they might venture to advance,
and where, if repulsed, they had a refuge at hand. The cavalry with some
light infantry was sent to attack them, and fought without any decisive
result. Shortly afterwards the enemy retreated. During the following days
they fought a series of engagements in front of the gates, till they were
driven within the walls by continual defeats. The Romans then began to
prepare for an assault. It seemed beneath them to await the result of famine.
The army demanded the more perilous alternative, some prompted by courage,
many by sheer ferocity and greed of gain. Titus himself had Rome with all
its wealth and pleasures before his eyes. Jerusalem must fall at once,
or it would delay his enjoyment of them. But the commanding situation of
the city had been strengthened by enormous works which would have been
a thorough defence even for level ground. Two hills of great height were
fenced in by walls which had been skilfully obliqued or bent inwards, in
such a manner that the flank of an assailant was exposed to missiles. The
rock terminated in a precipice; the towers were raised to a height of sixty
feet, where the hill lent its aid to the fortifications, where the ground
fell, to a height of one hundred and twenty. They had a marvellous appearance,
and to a distant spectator seemed to be of uniform elevation. Within were
other walls surrounding the palace, and, rising to a conspicuous height,
the tower Antonia, so called by Herod, in honour of Marcus Antonius.
[5.12] The temple resembled a citadel,
and had its own walls, which were more laboriously constructed than the
others. Even the colonnades with which it was surrounded formed an admirable
outwork. It contained an inexhaustible spring; there were subterranean
excavations in the hill, and tanks and cisterns for holding rain water.
The founders of the state had foreseen that frequent wars would result
from the singularity of its customs, and so had made every provision against
the most protracted siege. After the capture of their city by Pompey, experience
and apprehension taught them much. Availing themselves of the sordid policy
of the Claudian era to purchase the right of fortification, they raised
in time of peace such walls as were suited for war. Their numbers were
increased by a vast rabble collected from the overthrow of the other cities.
All the most obstinate rebels had escaped into the place, and perpetual
seditions were the consequence. There were three generals, and as many
armies. Simon held the outer and larger circuit of walls. John, also called
Bargioras, occupied the middle city. Eleazar had fortified the temple.
John and Simon were strong in numbers and equipment, Eleazar in position.
There were continual skirmishes, surprises, and incendiary fires, and a
vast quantity of corn was burnt. Before long John sent some emissaries,
who, under pretence of sacrificing, slaughtered Eleazar and his partisans,
and gained possession of the temple. The city was thus divided between
two factions, till, as the Romans approached, war with the foreigner brought
about a reconciliation.
[5.13] Prodigies had occurred, which
this nation, prone to superstition, but hating all religious rites, did
not deem it lawful to expiate by offering and sacrifice. There had been
seen hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the temple
illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds. The doors of the inner
shrine were suddenly thrown open, and a voice of more than mortal tone
was heard to cry that the Gods were departing. At the same instant there
was a mighty stir as of departure. Some few put a fearful meaning on these
events, but in most there was a firm persuasion, that in the ancient records
of their priests was contained a prediction of how at this very time the
East was to grow powerful, and rulers, coming from Judaea, were to acquire
universal empire. These mysterious prophecies had pointed to Vespasian
and Titus, but the common people, with the usual blindness of ambition,
had interpreted these mighty destinies of themselves, and could not be
brought even by disasters to believe the truth. I have heard that the total
number of the besieged, of every age and both sexes, amounted to six hundred
thousand. All who were able bore arms, and a number, more than proportionate
to the population, had the courage to do so. Men and women showed equal
resolution, and life seemed more terrible than death, if they were to be
forced to leave their country. Such was this city and nation; and Titus
Caesar, seeing that the position forbad an assault or any of the more rapid
operations of war, determined to proceed by earthworks and covered approaches.
The legions had their respective duties assigned to them, and there was
a cessation from fighting, till all the inventions, used in ancient warfare,
or devised by modern ingenuity for the reduction of cities, were constructed.
[5.14] Meanwhile Civilis, having recruited
his army from Germany after his defeat among the Treveri, took up his position
at the Old Camp, where his situation would protect him, and where the courage
of his barbarian troops would be raised by the recollection of successes
gained on the spot. He was followed to this place by Cerialis, whose forces
had now been doubled by the arrival of the 2nd, 6th, and 14th legions.
The auxiliary infantry and cavalry, summoned long before, had hastened
to join him after his victory. Neither of the generals loved delay. But
a wide extent of plain naturally saturated with water kept them apart.
Civilis had also thrown a dam obliquely across the Rhine, so that the stream,
diverted by the obstacle, might overflow the adjacent country. Such was
the character of the district, full of hidden perils from the varying depth
of the fords, and unfavourable to our troops. The Roman soldier is heavily
armed and afraid to swim, while the German, who is accustomed to rivers,
is favoured by the lightness of his equipment and the height of his stature.
[5.15] The Batavi provoking a conflict,
the struggle was at once begun by all the boldest spirits among our troops,
but a panic arose, when they saw arms and horses swallowed up in the vast
depths of the marshes. The Germans leapt lightly through the well-known
shallows, and frequently, quitting the front, hung on the rear and flanks
of our army. It was neither the close nor the distant fighting of a land-battle;
it was more like a naval contest. Struggling among the waters, or exerting
every limb where they found any firm footing, the wounded and the unhurt,
those who could swim and those who could not, were involved in one common
destruction. The loss however was less than might have been expected from
the confusion, for the Germans, not venturing to leave the morass, returned
to their camp. The result of this battle roused both generals, though from
different motives, to hasten on the final struggle. Civilis was anxious
to follow up his success; Cerialis to wipe out his disgrace. The Germans
were flushed with success; the Romans were thoroughly roused by shame.
The barbarians spent the night in singing and shouting; our men in rage
and threats of vengeance.
[5.16] Next morning Cerialis formed
his front with the cavalry and auxiliary infantry; in the second line were
posted the legions, the general reserving a picked force for unforeseen
contingencies. Civilis confronted him with his troops ranged, not in line,
but in columns. On the right were the Batavi and the Gugerni; the left,
which was nearer the river, was occupied by the Transrhenane tribes. The
exhortations of the generals were not addressed as formal harangues to
the assembled armies, but to the divisions separately, as they rode along
the line. Cerialis spoke of the old glory of the Roman name, of former
and of recent victories; he told them that in destroying for ever their
treacherous, cowardly, and beaten foe, they had to execute a punishment,
rather than to fight a battle. They had lately contended with a superior
force, and yet the Germans, the strength of the hostile army, had been
routed; a few were left, who carried terror in their hearts and scars upon
their backs. He addressed to the several legions appropriate appeals. The
14th were styled the "Conquerors of Britain"; the powerful influence
of the 6th had made Galba Emperor; the men of the 2nd were in that battle
first to consecrate their new standards and new eagle. Then riding up to
the army of Germany, he stretched forth his hand, and implored them to
recover their river bank and their camp by the slaughter of the foe. A
joyful shout arose from the whole army, some of whom after long peace lusted
for battle, while others, weary of war, desired peace; all were looking
for rewards and for future repose.
[5.17] Nor did Civilis marshal his army
in silence. He called the field of battle to bear witness to their valour.
He told the Germans and Batavians that they were standing on the monuments
of their glory, that they were treading under foot the ashes and bones
of legions. "Wherever," he said, "the Roman turns his eyes,
captivity, disaster, and everything that is terrible, confront him. Do
not be alarmed by the adverse result of the battle among the Treveri. There,
their own success proved hurtful to the Germans, for, throwing away their
arms, they hampered their hands with plunder. Since then everything has
been favourable to us, and against the foe. All precautions, which the
skill of a general should take, have been taken. Here are these flooded
plains which we know so well, here the marshes so fatal to the enemy. The
Rhine and the Gods of Germany are in your sight. Under their auspices give
battle, remembering your wives, your parents, and your father-land. This
day will either be the most glorious among the deeds of the past, or will
be infamous in the eyes of posterity." These words were hailed, according
to their custom, with the clash of arms and with wild antics, and then
the battle was commenced by a discharge of stones, leaden balls, and other
missiles, our soldiers not entering the morass, while the Germans sought
to provoke, and so draw them on.
[5.18] When their store of missiles
was spent, and the battle grew hotter, a fiercer onslaught was made by
the enemy. Their tall stature and very long spears enabled them, without
closing, to wound our men, who were wavering and unsteady. At the same
time a column of the Bructeri swam across from the dam, which I have described
as carried out into the river. Here there was some confusion. The line
of the allied infantry was being driven back, when the legions took up
the contest. The fury of the enemy was checked, and the battle again became
equal. At the same time a Batavian deserter came up to Cerialis, offering
an opportunity of attacking the enemy's rear, if some cavalry were sent
along the edge of the morass. The ground there was firm, and the Gugerni,
to whom the post had been allotted, were careless. Two squadrons were sent
with the deserter, and outflanked the unsuspecting enemy. At the shout
that announced this success, the legions charged in front. The Germans
were routed, and fled towards the Rhine. The war would have been finished
that day, if the fleet had hastened to come up. As it was, the cavalry
did not pursue, for a storm of rain suddenly fell, and night was at hand.
[5.19] The next day the 14th legion
was sent into the Upper Province to join Gallus Annius. The 10th, which
had arrived from Spain, supplied its place in the army of Cerialis. Civilis
was joined by some auxiliaries from the Chauci. Nevertheless he did not
venture to fight for the defence of the Batavian capital, but carrying
off property that could be removed, and setting fire to the remainder,
he retreated into the island, aware that there were not vessels enough
for constructing a bridge, and that the Roman army could not cross the
river in any other way. He also demolished the dyke, constructed by Drusus
Germanicus, and, by destroying this barrier, sent the river flowing down
a steep channel on the side of Gaul. The river having been thus, so to
speak, diverted, the narrowness of the channel between the island and Germany
created an appearance of an uninterrupted surface of dry ground. Tutor,
Classicus, and one hundred and thirteen senators of the Treveri, also crossed
the Rhine. Among them was Alpinius Montanus, of whose mission into Gaul
by Antonius I have already spoken. He was accompanied by his brother Decimus
Alpinius. His other adherents were now endeavouring to collect auxiliaries
among these danger-loving tribes by appeals to their pity and their greed.
[5.20] The war was so far from being
at an end, that Civilis in one day attacked on four points the positions
of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry and of the legions, assailing the
tenth legion at Arenacum, the second at Batavodurum, and the camp of the
auxiliary infantry and cavalry at Grinnes and Vada, and so dividing his
forces, that he himself, his sister's son Verax, Classicus, and Tutor,
led each his own division. They were not confident of accomplishing all
these objects, but they hoped that, if they made many ventures, fortune
would favour them on some one point. Besides, Cerialis was not cautious,
and might easily be intercepted, as the multiplicity of tidings hurried
him from place to place. The force, which had to attack the tenth legion,
thinking it a hard matter to storm a legionary encampment, surprised some
troops, who had gone out, and were busy felling timber, killed the prefect
of the camp, five centurions of the first rank, and a few soldiers; the
rest found shelter behind the fortifications. At Batavodurum the German
troops tried to break down the bridge partly built. Night terminated an
indecisive conflict.
[5.21] There was greater danger at Grinnes
and Vada. Civilis attacked Vada, Classicus Grinnes, and they could not
be checked, for our bravest men had fallen, among them Briganticus, who
commanded a squadron of cavalry, and of whose loyalty to the Roman cause
and enmity to his uncle Civilis I have already spoken. But when Cerialis
came up with a picked body of cavalry, the fortune of the day changed,
and the Germans were driven headlong into the river. Civilis, who was recognised
while seeking to stop his flying troops, became the mark of many missiles,
left his horse, and swam across the river. Verax escaped in the same way.
Some light vessels were brought up, and carried off Tutor and Classicus.
Even on this occasion the Roman fleet was not present at the engagement,
though orders had been given to that effect. Fear kept them away, and their
crews were dispersed about other military duties. Cerialis in fact allowed
too little time for executing his commands; he was hasty in his plans,
though eminently successful in their results. Fortune helped him even where
skill had failed, and so both the general and his army became less careful
about discipline. A few days after this he escaped the peril of actual
capture, but not without great disgrace.
[5.22] He had gone to Novesium and Bonna,
to inspect the camps which were then in course of erection for the winter
abode of the legions, and was making his way back with the fleet, his escort
being in disorder, and his sentries negligent. This was observed by the
Germans, and they planned a surprise. They chose a dark and cloudy night,
and moving rapidly down the stream, entered the entrenchments without opposition.
The carnage was at first helped on by a cunning device. They cut the ropes
of the tents, and slaughtered the soldiers as they lay buried beneath their
own dwellings. Another force put the fleet into confusion, threw their
grapling irons on the vessels, and dragged them away by the sterns. They
sought at first to elude notice by silence, but when the slaughter was
begun, by way of increasing the panic they raised on all sides a deafening
shout. The Romans, awakened by sounds, looked for their arms and rushed
through the passages of the camp, some few with their proper accoutrements,
but most with their garments wrapped round their shoulders, and with drawn
swords in their hands. The general, who was half asleep, and all but naked,
was saved by the enemy's mistake. They carried off the praetorian vessel,
which was distinguished by a flag, believing that the general was on board.
Cerialis indeed had passed the night elsewhere, in the company, as many
believed, of an Ubian woman, Claudia Sacrata. The sentinels sought to excuse
their own scandalous neglect by the disgraceful conduct of the general,
alleging that they had been ordered to be silent, that they might not disturb
his rest, and that, from omitting the watchwords and the usual challenges,
they had themselves fallen asleep. The enemy rowed back in broad daylight
with the captured vessels. The praetorian trireme they towed up the river
Lupia as a present to Veleda.
[5.23] Civilis was seized by a desire
to make a naval demonstration. He manned all the triremes that he had,
and such vessels as were propelled by a single bank of oars. To these he
added a vast number of boats. He put in each three or four hundred men,
the usual complement of a Liburnian galley. With these were the captured
vessels, in which, picturesquely enough, plaids of various colours were
used for sails. The place selected was an expanse of water, not unlike
the sea, where the mouth of the Mosa serves to discharge the Rhine into
the ocean. The motive for equipping this fleet was, to say nothing of the
natural vanity of this people, a desire to intercept, by this alarming
demonstration, the supplies that were approaching from Gaul. Cerialis,
more in astonishment than alarm, drew up his fleet in line, and, though
inferior in numbers, it had the advantage in the experience of the crews,
the skill of the pilots, and the size of the vessels. The Romans had the
stream with them, the enemy's vessels were propelled by the wind. Thus
passing each other, they separated after a brief discharge of light missiles.
Civilis attempted nothing more, and retired to the other side of the Rhine.
Cerialis mercilessly ravaged the Island of the Batavi, but, with a policy
familiar to commanders, left untouched the estates and houses of Civilis.
Meanwhile, however, the autumn was far advanced, and the river, swollen
by the continual rains of the season, overflowed the island, marshy and
low-lying as it is, till it resembled a lake. There were no ships, no provisions
at hand, and the camp, which was situated on low ground, was in process
of being carried away by the force of the stream.
[5.24] That the legions might then have
been crushed, and that the Germans wished to crush them, but were turned
from their purpose by his own craft, was claimed as a merit by Civilis;
nor is it unlike the truth, since a capitulation followed in a few days.
Cerialis, sending secret emissaries, had held out the prospect of peace
to the Batavi, and of pardon to Civilis, while he advised Veleda and her
relatives to change by a well-timed service to the Roman people the fortune
of war, which so many disasters had shewn to be adverse. He reminded them
that the Treveri had been beaten, that the Ubii had submitted, that the
Batavi had had their country taken from them, and that from the friendship
of Civilis nothing else had been gained but wounds, defeat, and mourning;
an exile and a fugitive he could only be a burden to those who entertained
him, and they had already trespassed enough in crossing the Rhine so often.
If they attempted anything more, on their side would be the wrong and the
guilt, with the Romans the vengeance of heaven.
[5.25] Thus promises were mingled with
threats. When the fidelity of the Transrhenane tribes had been thus shaken,
among the Batavi also there arose debates. "We can no longer,"
they said, "postpone our ruin. The servitude of the whole world cannot
be averted by a single nation. What has been accomplished by destroying
legions with fire and sword, but that more legions and stronger have been
brought up? If it was for Vespasian that we fought this war, then Vespasian
rules the world; if we meant to challenge to battle the Roman people, then
what a mere fraction of the human race are the Batavi! Look at the Rhaetians
and Noricans, at the burdens borne by the other allies. No tribute, but
valour and manhood are demanded of us. This is the next thing to liberty,
and if we must choose between masters, then we may more honourably bear
with the Emperors of Rome, than with the women of the Germans." Such
were the murmurs of the lower class; the nobles spoke in fiercer language.
"We have been driven into war," they said, "by the fury
of Civilis. He sought to counterbalance his private wrongs by the destruction
of his nation. Then were the Gods angry with the Batavi when the legions
were besieged, when the legates were slain, when the war, so necessary
to that one man, so fatal to us, was begun. We are at the last extremity,
unless we think of repenting, and avow our repentance by punishing the
guilty."
[5.26] These dispositions did not escape
the notice of Civilis. He determined to anticipate them, moved not only
by weariness of his sufferings, but also by that clinging to life which
often breaks the noblest spirits. He asked for a conference. The bridge
over the river Nabalia was cut down, and the two generals advanced to the
broken extremities. Civilis thus opened the conference:- "If it were
before a legate of Vitellius that I were defending myself, my acts would
deserve no pardon, my words no credit. All the relations between us were
those of hatred and hostility, first made so by him, and afterwards embittered
by me. My respect for Vespasian is of long standing. While he was still
a subject, we were called friends. This was known to Primus Antonius, whose
letters urged me to take up arms, for he feared lest the legions of Germany
and the youth of Gaul should cross the Alps. What Antonius advised by his
letters, Hordeonius suggested by word of mouth. I fought the same battle
in Germany, as did Mucianus in Syria, Aponius in Moesia, Flavianus in Pannonia."
[At this point the Histories break off. We do not know what happened
to Civilis. The Batavians seem to have received favorable treatment.]
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